Experience to help Delight find the winner's circle

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One of the runs of the day was buried away behind the placegetters in the Class Four dirt mile on Sunday, when lightly-raced Winner's Delight finished out of the placings behind Dashing Super.

The bay gelding is the only representative in Hong Kong of Northern Meteor, the son of Encosta De Lago who has been a sire sensation in Australia from the few seasons he served at stud before his death from colic last year, just days before he would have turned eight.

Winner's Delight began well enough having his first run beyond a sprint course, but did not have the speed to be any closer than midfield and found himself caught four wide around the first turn, and there he stayed.

Winner's Delight was green and overreacted to jockey Mirco Demuro every time he tried to turn him in one direction or another and Danny Shum Chap-shing's three-year-old was having a good look around as he used plenty of the track.

On the final bend from the 800m to the 500m, Winner's Delight drifted back, losing ground and looking ready to drop out of the race after covering so much extra ground.

By the time he passed the 400m mark, Winner's Delight was near enough to last in the field of 14 and it would have been no surprise if he had tailed off.

But the gelding then lifted his game under Demuro's riding and, although still green and unsure of his job, he came on again to cut two lengths off the leaders in the run down the straight.

It was the second successive very tough trip in running for Winner's Delight, as he had been similarly caught four wide over 1,200m in his previous turf run.

Each time, he has applied himself nicely at the finish, so he looks to handle both surfaces and his run on the weekend suggested he will go at least a mile, and perhaps even further, which could be the influence of his maternal grandsire Danzero kicking in.

The best of him probably will not appear until next season, but Winner's Delight clearly has the natural ability to pay his way even now when circumstances permit him to show that talent.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: